Harrington says McDowell should have taken ban on the chin

The 2010 US Open champion explained in a statement that he had used an over-the-counter nasal spray. He accepted the consequences while claiming LIV’s “thorough and transparent” anti-doping process was “unlike some other tours”.

Hardly the first shot across the bows between the tours.

Harrington describes himself as a “real stickler” for the rules but felt the decision was “harsh” while suggesting the Northern Irishman would have been better to “take it on the chin and you don't throw everybody else under the bus”.

Only a handful of players have fallen foul of anti-doping rules on the US PGA Tour since its introduction in 2008. Byeong Hun An was the latest to be suspended, for three months late last year because of an over-the-counter remedy from his native South Korea.

Golf's anti-doping procedures have drawn fire in the past.

Rory McIlroy trumpeted the need for better testing programmes in 2016 when pointing out that he “could use HGH [human growth hormone] and get away with it”. Harrington has this week called for more openness from all tours as to who is tested and their results.

There is no testing on the Champions Tour. The Dubliner said that he is tested regularly on the Tuesday or Wednesday of weeks where he plays PGA Tour events, and referenced the fact that a PGA Tour player had actually been banned for a similar offence to McDowell's.

The three-time Major champion was speaking on the eve of this year’s Irish Amgen Open. The event is being held at Royal Co. Down for the first time since 2015 when Rory McIlroy’s foundation hosted and the Holywood man brought in a spate of high-profile names.

Rickie Fowler, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia were among the entrants nine years ago. The stardust this week will be restricted largely to the Irish heavyweight division of McIlroy, Harrington, Shane Lowry and Seamus Power.

Attracting the game’s biggest draws to these shores has long been an issue. Harrington, when asked for a solution to golf’s ongoing civil war, actually offered an idea that would work for tournament like the Irish Open, DP and PGA Tours and the global professional game in general.

Negotiations to bring the two warring parties together continue but Harrington doesn’t see a scenario where the world’s top players will play frequently on both tours and thereby commit to anything up to 30 tournaments a year. Not a chance.

So, what to do?

“You start adding in more events and who are you fighting against for players at that stage? Most players say they want to play less so it's hard to add another 14 tournaments and have players have dual membership.

“So, ideally for me, I would suggest that every PGA Tour and European Tour event should have four invites for LIV players, and every LIV event should have four invites for an International team.

"That way we have enough crossover that we can get Jon Rahm to play the European Tour and we get Abraham Ancer to play the Mexican Open. If four PGA Tour guys come over, it's not like they are going to be welcomed with open arms. So that creates buzz at their events.” 

This will be Harrington’s 29th consecutive year teeing it up at his national open and, while he admitted to feeling “a little tougher” this year, through age possibly, the week still gets the blood up 17 years after his sole win at Adare Manor.

“Obviously [it has been] brought back to the level that maybe I grew up with the Irish Open being one of the premiere events on the Tour. I know we've got a tough course here but the players are abuzz about it.

“They feel that it is the biggest event this week in golf. It's nice. It's a nice atmosphere. It's a nice feel and it's great as an Irish player that you can be proud of the event, the Amgen Irish Open.”